Contrast
by Kakashis-First-Kiss
Summary: Iruka's view on the two types of people in the world: creatures of light and dark. Rated for Kakashi's temper.


There are two types of people in the world.

The creatures of darkness and night.

The creatures of brightness and day.

Iruka was the kind of person who saw everything; he could tell what kind of person someone was just by looking at them: light, or dark. Iruka had always considered himself a creature of the light; untouched, unbridled, untamed by human hands and the profound effect they always seemed to have on the world. He was always smiling, and he seemed, to many people, permanently in a good mood. But Naruto knew better; all it took to set Iruka off was a couple of tricks and cutting class, and all of a sudden you were grade A dead meat. But other than that, Iruka was a happy, cheerful person who seemed to always brighten up a room.

On the other hand, Iruka had also had many experiences with creatures of the dark, and he often got into arguments with them. Take Hatake Kakashi, for example. He thought that Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were ready for the Chuunins. Iruka didn't. He openly challenged Kakashi, trying "to keep them alive," but he only ended up hurting himself instead. Kakashi had lashed out furiously, angry at Iruka's mistrust.

Iruka had never spoken to the Copy Ninja again.

But he had seen enough of Kakashi to know that he was a true creature of the dark; dark, foreboding, morbid, sadistic, vile-all of these things, Iruka could say about Kakashi, had he really known him.

But who was Iruka to judge?

Iruka had never liked judging a person until he absolutely had to, and even then he tended to place people a small bit higher on the scale than he probably should. He always saw the best in people, and was slightly blind to their faults.

But Kakashi-now he was just plain confusing.

Yes, the jounin was a true creature of the dark. Yes, he was sadistic and cruel. Yes, he was Iruka's enemy now. But Iruka could never get further than that. Kakashi was always hidden, reserved; he allowed no one to see him.

Expect when it was accidental.

Iruka had walked into the locker room in the evening one night mistakenly thinking it was empty. He walked right in and came face to face-literally- with Kakashi.

Iruka had passed out seeing Kakashi so angry. He figured it was better faint and not feel a thing than face the elite jounin's wrath.

When he woke up, he was in a dark room alone. Kakashi was the only other person there, but Iruka hadn't noticed him until footsteps sounded off stone walls.

"Making sure you're not dead."

"What do you care if I'm dead or not?" Iruka shot. Without warning, Kakashi darted forward and Iruka was suddenly turned over, and it took him a second to fully realize the position he was in. He was on the floor, pinned down by Kakashi's body. He was on his stomach, and Kakashi was sitting in the small of his back, one foot on his neck, the other off to the side.

"Dead men tell no tales."

Iruka had yelped as a foot connected with his side, and then Kakashi's weight was mercifully lifted away. "If you tell anyone about what you saw of me just now, you will die."

Then he was kicked again and left completely alone.

Iruka had woken up in his own bed that morning, and he had left in a hurry, wondering who had put him there. He noticed a piece of paper next to his bed that read:

_If you can't guess, than you don't deserve to know._

Kakashi.

Another piece of the puzzle-and only the second in a thousand-piece labyrinth Kakashi would never allow him out of. Iruka had simply sighed, gotten dressed, and headed out to teach.

All day he had looked for Kakashi.

He never found him.

Three days later, Kakashi could be seen flitting in and out of shadow, lurking just beyond your reach. Iruka would turn, see a flash of silver hair, and then it would be gone. He would shake himself and simply go back to what he was doing. But all throughout the day, Kakashi kept showing up in Iruka's outer edges of eyesight, teasing at the fringes of his peripheral vision.

Iruka could learn to hate him for that.

Kakashi was a true creature of the dark, in that he fitted so well with it. He could blend perfectly with the shadows, and he seemed quite at ease with them. He seemed better off in small groups of darkness creatures, like Kurenai and Asuma, and he never showed up at social events. Kurenai and Asuma were slightly better though, despite being creatures of the dark; they could socialize. Kakashi probably couldn't spend an hour in a crowd and remain sane if his life depended on it. Iruka, however, was a different story all together: he could spend days in a crowd, and he always had enjoyed being around other people.

Maybe it was a matter of security.

Iruka had always found comfort in other people, like "safety in numbers." Iruka trusted others very easily and received a lot of trust in return. Meanwhile, Kakashi would never trust; he never could, and probably never would. He would allow you to almost touch him-and then he would appear, farther away than ever before, and he would make you chase him all the way, making you think you'd finally earned his trust, when BAM! He'd suddenly vanish, and make you work even harder. Most people gave up after barely trying; others never even bothered to try. Kakashi simply didn't give.

But he didn't take.

He always remained just out of reach; you couldn't ever touch him. And if you did, you would probably end up dead within the hour. If so much as a finger brushed him that he didn't approve of, Kakashi would be on you like a cat, ripping and tearing and shredding, trying to teach you something.

Most of the time, you would die.

And those were either people who had gone mad, or simply were suicidal. Many would die for the chance to get close to Hatake Kakashi; and many did because they went through with their plans. Iruka almost felt bad; but he had seen firsthand what Kakashi could do, and he was fairly sure that if you went to poke him with a thirty-nine and a half foot pole he would bite the hell out of you.

He would receive glares for those thoughts.

And Kakashi seemed to be telling Iruka, _You could never survive what I did. I am a creature of the dark; I thrive while you suffer. I live while you die. Stay off my turf or pay the price. _And Iruka would shudder and turn away, noticing the smirk on Kakashi's face.

Dark, he truly was.

Foreboding, he truly was.

Morbid, he truly was.

Sadistic, he truly was.

Vile, he truly was.

Cruel, he truly was.

But he was also alone and in pain.

And in spite of Iruka's sunshine exterior, he, in turn, was also suffering on the inside.

**A/N: Just a little drabble I thought up today…I realized I had never done anything for Iruka, so I decided this would be perfect to do, since everyone has them as a couple and this is bitter enemies…Oh well. It was probably crappy, but you can be the judge of that. Review please:)**


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